LeWayne Miller is a fan of the three-leg Howard Beissinger Memorial Medley Trot at Miami Valley Raceway, and has a “compelling” reason to look forward to Friday’s (Feb. 19) $25,000 final. Miller will be driving the morning-line favourite, Compelling.
Compelling and Miller will start from post 5 in the final, which will be contested at the added distance of one-and-a-quarter miles. Compelling won a first-leg division of the medley, raced at five-eighths of a mile, and finished second in a second-round split, which was raced at the standard distance of one mile.
Perfect Chapter As is the 7-2 second choice in the final. The seven-year-old gelding won a second-leg division and was third in an opening-round division. The Ron Burke trainee will start from post 6 with Chris Page in the sulky. Shake It Mary, who won both of her preliminary legs, is 5-1 from post seven. The five-year-old Sherif Cunmulaj-trained mare will be driven by Dan Noble.
The field for the $25,000 championship of the Howard Beissinger Memorial Medley Trot is set, and it promises to be quite a contentious affair at the added distance of 1-1/4 miles.
Beissinger, a Hall Of Fame trainer-driver, won three Hambletonians and maintained his base of operations in Hamilton, Ohio less than ten miles from Miami Valley Raceway throughout his illustrious career.
Shake It Mary (Dan Noble) extended her win streak to four at Miami Valley with a 1:57 score in the first of two divisions on Friday (Feb 12) at one mile. The classy five-year-old daughter of Dontyouforgetit, trained by Sherif Cunmulaj for the Rushcreek Stables, surpassed the $150,000 earnings plateau with her 20th career triumph. She beat favoured Compelling (LeWayne Miller) and Lets Go Bucks (Jeremy Smith) by about a length. Majestic Brayden also advanced from this split to the final with a pair of fifth place finishes in preliminary legs.
Its A Herbie overcame an uncovered overland journey to win Miami Valley’s $22,500 Open Trot on Tuesday (Feb. 9) for the second straight week.
Trainer-driver LeWayne Miller has the five-year-old son of Here Comes Herbie in fine form for owner Verlin Yoder, who lives and trains the rest of his stable in Florida in the winter months.
Miller settled Its A Herbie along the pylons into fourth briefly as the 10-horse field hit the quarter in :28.4. It wasn’t long thereafter, however, that the winner began his first-up pursuit of the leader Muscle Fashion. Up to third at the pedestrian :58 half, Its A Herbie managed to lap on to Muscle Fashion’s wheel just past the 1:26.4 third timing station. The two raced as a team until halfway down the lane when Miller’s mount pulled away to the 1:55.3 victory. Swan Chase proved best of the rest.
The Friday night feature at Miami Valley was the $22,500 Mares Open Pace, won by Pace Baby Pace and driver Chris Page for the second straight week, but the most anticipated races were a pair of divisions going 5/8ths of a mile dashes in the first leg of the Howard Beissinger Memorial Medley. The second leg of the annual Beissinger Memorial will go a standard mile, then the third and final $25,000 championship leg will go 1-1/4 miles on Friday, Feb. 22. Nominated horses could not have raced for a purse over $15,000 in their last three overnight starts.
Compelling (LeWayne Miller) won the most exciting split, racing in the back half of the pack throughout most of the one lap contest before charging from sixth to first in the stretch drive. The Next Triumph (Trace Tetrick) went nose-to-nose with Compelling most of the stretch, but settled for second in the end. Pink Tulip (Jason Brewer) got up to garner the show dough.
The betting public got it right on Tuesday (Feb. 2) at Miami Valley, sending Its A Herbie off as the 4-5 odds on favourite in the $22,000 Open Trot.
The five-year-old son of Here Comes Herbie responded with a relatively easy 1:55.1 victory for driver-trainer LeWayne Miller, besting Workinitonbroadway and longshot Milfords Z Tam. It was the 15th victory for Its A Herbie, boosting his lifetime bounty to $465,242 for owner Verlin Yoder.
The Tuesday matinee also featured round-one action in the Survivor Series for $5,000 claiming pacing mares, divided into three divisions. The winners over the sloppy track were Princess Oshie (Trace Tetrick, 1:57.4, $4.20), Dilly Dali (Dan Noble, 1:58, $3.20) and Mary Catherine A (Tetrick, 1:58.4, $3.20).